Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay (23) runs off the field after an interception during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

There has been much false hope bantered about the Lions, and perhaps their victory over the Bears Saturday will fuel more.

But that shouldn’t take away from their best effort in awhile.

It’s a given the Bears are a struggling squad, and coach John Fox likely to be dismissed after the season.

Still, the Bears presented a difficult matchup for the Lions. They run the ball well. They are reasonably stout defensively. The Lions’ offensive line, ineffective run blocking to begin with, is banged up, yet they ran the ball as well as they have all season. Defensively, the Lions were effective stopping the run, which is hardly their norm.

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Wide receiver Marvin Jones is having an excellent season. He made a terrific reception on a 58-yard heave by quarterback Matthew Stafford. It came during the first half, and in essence broke the Bears’ collective back early.

“I felt like we needed a spark at the time, and we got one,” Stafford of the catch by Jones. Darius Slay intercepted two passes. Quandre Diggs also picked one off.

The ship may have sailed on the Lions’ playoff hopes regardless. Their earlier losses to Minnesota and Baltimore likely remain fatal to their postseason hopes. The website FiveThirtyEight.com upgraded the Lions’ playoff chances to 23 percent. It had been 12 percent after the loss to the Ravens, and 16 percent following the win at Tampa Bay. At this point, what can the Lions do better than win?

It’s why head coach Jim Caldwell is sticking to the one-game-at-a-time approach.

“We deal with what we can control,” he said.

Unlike last week at Tampa Bay, the Lions played an overall good game. They took it more from the Bears than this win was handed to them.

There are many, however, who will look at this victory, or any praise of the Lions, cynically.

It’s classic Lions to hang in and present the notion they are genuinely contenders when they are not. The Lions’ odds of getting into the playoffs are the same as Andrew Romine getting a hit for the Tigers during the 2017 MLB season. And if they get in, a quick exit is very likely.

The Lions don’t hold the key tiebreakers against their primary rivals in playoff contention, except, perhaps, Seattle. This is not a team built for long-range contention, and perhaps will take general manager Bob Quinn down the wrong road with the belief the Lions are close to being genuine contenders. Each victory increases the chances Caldwell will return as head coach. That wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing when it comes to the Lions moving off the treadmill to nowhere.

With so much focus on what’s wrong the Lions, Slay is what is right. He has developed into one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. Five interceptions is a good season, and they have come at key times. He is also a strong tackler and a solid man-to-man corner.

“I’m ahead of the game because I know what they are doing,’’ Slay said. “I know their strengths and weaknesses.’’

Rookie linebacker Jarrad Davis, who has been badly schooled most of this season, had his best game. He still didn’t play as well as Tahir Whitehead, who has been the Lions’ most underrated player.

“I think our guys did an extremely good job of filling the lanes and making tackles,” Caldwell said.

Stafford, ultimately, was the difference. He made plays Bears’ rookie Mitch Trubisky just doesn’t at this point.

“Matthew has been on a terror lately, and his receivers making plays for him, too,” Caldwell said.

There was little to complain about the Lions Saturday. It was a really nice win.